Samoa Joe Inducted Into ROH Hall of Fame
A few weeks ago, Ring of Honor would announce the opening of their very own Hall of Fame, as they head towards Supercard of Honor 15 on April 1st, their first show since December 2021.
This week, the third entry into the first class would be revealed, with former ROH World Champion and current free agent Samoa Joe set to join the prestigious list of names.
The promotion would take to their website to talk about the impact Joe has had on not only Ring of Honor but wrestling as a whole, and they would write:
“From the first time stepped into an ROH ring in 2002, Samoa Joe proved to be an intimidating force whose hard-hitting offense, intensity and relentlessness made him one of the sport’s most dangerous competitors. ‘The Samoan Submission Machine’ is arguably the most proficient American pro wrestler in the art of strong style, a form of pro wrestling popularized in Japan that emphasizes strikes and submissions.”
“In just his 10th match in ROH, Joe captured the ROH Title in March 2003. Two months later, Joe officially elevated the championship to world title status when he successfully defended it in London, marking the first time the championship had been defended outside the United States. Joe went on to hold the ROH World Championship for a record 645 days and make 31 successful title defenses.”
“It’s not only the longest reign in ROH history, but at the time it was the longest world title reign in any U.S.-based pro wrestling company in 15 years. During Joe’s historic reign, he and CM Punk engaged in an epic trilogy of matches that have become legendary. They wrestled to two 60-minute draws before Joe won their final meeting.”
Joe joins The Briscoes and Bryan Danielson in the inaugural ROH Hall of Fame class, with one more name set to be announced next week.
A career retrospective on Samoa Joe will be featured on this weekend’s episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling television, and a YouTube special on Joe drops this coming Monday their YouTube channel.
